I want to ask you to look at the diagram above, for just a few seconds.
Have you done it?
Now I want to ask, is that how you do your content marketing campaign?
If I’m going to make a wild guess, I think “No” is probably your answer. And if I’m going to be really frank with you, this is also why your content marketing campaign is failing.
In this article, I would like to tell you about your content marketing isn’t working and I’ll discuss them below.
No Distribution Plan
One of the biggest reasons content marketing doesn’t perform well is because you have no distribution plan. If you want your content to be noticed, you have to get it in front of people, especially those relevant to your niche. If you are a popular blog, then you can rely on repeat visitors to help you out but this isn’t always the case. For example, newbies especially need to get noticed so they need an action plan to market their content. The good news is, we are in a time where you have several options available to you, but you have to know how to use them correctly.
Here are a few popular ones:
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[su_spoiler title=”Social media platforms” style=”fancy”] create accounts on the main platforms and keep sharing your content. [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Networking” style=”fancy”] Have authority bloggers mention your content or even write about it on their blogs. [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”SEO” style=”fancy”] This is a much longer option and takes time to implement, but it’ll be great for long-term success. [/su_spoiler]
[su_spoiler title=”Paid Ads” style=”fancy”] If you have a budget, then invest in social media marketing to get your brand and content noticed.[/su_spoiler]
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I have played around with many strategies and from my experience social media is the best channel to promote your content. First, focusing on the right platforms means engaging with millions of users each day and will increase exposure rapidly. Secondly, you have handy tools for research which will guide you in the right direction. For example, tools like hashtagify.me which is one of the best to find trending tags to include when you share your content. Third, these networks continue to grow so it’s a channel which can only provide value in the long run.
Not Relevant Enough
In many of my other posts, I’ve mentioned how researching your audience is the MOST important factor before starting your business. By knowing who your audience is, you’ll be able to write content or sell products relevant to them. As a matter of fact, one of the main reasons why your content marketing fails is because it doesn’t resonate with a large enough audience. Without having a clear footprint of your audience, your content will be affected as well because it won’t be guided by keyword research. The only reason many of us are able to write high quality content rich in keywords is because we know who we are writing for. Next, knowing our audience also allows us to choose the right platforms and #hashtags when posting on social media channels.
There are many ways to research your audience but here’s the one I recommend. Check out your competition especially those who have been in the industry for a long time. Their audience will MOST likely be yours so you can implement their content marketing strategy going forward.
Using Alexa.com is a quick and easy way to find out more about your competitors audience. Here’s an example using BloggingTips.com. Check out the illustration below and you’ll notice the information I’ve gathered:
- Location
- Keywords
- Upstream
- Traffic
- Sites linking in
You Simply Stop!
I see this all the time — people get excited, build a strategy, start to create some awesome content that is optimized and promoted — then a few months later, they just stop.
In order for content marketing to be successful, you have to build a habit and make it part of your culture. The key is creating systems, and that may be the single toughest part of the process. It all comes down to commitment.
I’m confident that if you do commit to content marketing and avoid the pitfalls described above, you’ll be able to transform your business in ways you could have never imagined.
If you are impatient in your approach, then you won’t give each strategy enough time to flourish and might even cut down the testing process, which will affect the bottom line. Before getting started with content marketing, I encourage all of you to shift your mentality to understand it’s going to be a long-term commitment.
In the meantime you are working at building your blog so instead of waiting for your content to attract visitors you should focus on writing more content building your brand. This will keep you busy and your focus on the bottom line which is to build your brand and attract a relevant audience.
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